Water supply in Cameroon, Nzindong

About the Project

Project videos

Project implementation

Drilling at Nzindong

Tag des Ehrenamtes

Situation Nzindong

Project description

The village Nzindong, with app. 5000 inhabitants, is located at 1900 m above sea level in the region of Western Cameroon. It is 25 km north-west of Bafoussam and app. 250 km in the north of Douala, the capital of Cameroon. That implies that the village is located in the tropical climate area and faces a dry season from November to February, and a rainy season from March to October. The life in the village is dominated by agricultural work. The people in the village do not have access to portable water and sanitary systems. Water is usually fetched from a nearby river and has to be carried several kilometers. During the dry season, water shortage and health issues occur regularily. The aim of the project is the construction of a central well, which provides portable water for the people. The well will be equipped with asolar driven pump and shall be operated sustainably and indipendently by the locals. The water will be used to supply the local school, church and hospital, were public water taps will be installed. The well will help to improve the hygenic and health situation of the locals, to gain time for school and work which would otherwise be needed for fetching of water, and thereby to offer a future perspective especially for young people in Nzindong. In a further step, jobs could be offered concerning the maintenance and operation of the well. This further contributes to a sustainable and long term improvement of the life situation.

Technical description of the plant

The well will be drilled to a depth of app. 90 m, the water extraction will take place at about 55 m. The pumps (provided by KSB SE & Co. KGaA) will be able to supply an amount of 1.5-2.5 m³/h. During the months July - September, 4 h of daily sunshine are average, which leads to the use of a combination of solar power and mains current. The pump supplies the water to a storage tank, which controls the pump via level sensors. The pump itself will be protected using dry running control sensors. The used solar panels provide direct current, wich will be transformed to alternating current via a AC/DC converter. If the solar current supply is too low, electricity will be fed by mains current. See a movie about the pump pre installation here.

Tasks for the project team

Technical design of the pump, piping and water storage
Workshops for students of technical high school and university in the region
Supervision of well drilling and installation of pump and solar plant
Training for doctors and teachers supervising the public water areas
Training for technicians on maintenance of the solar plant and the pump control
Ensure sustainability by tracking the number of waterborne diseases in local hospital

This project is realised in cooperation with Katholische Kirche Karben.